Texas Hold'em Terms, Dictionary - Letters A Thru K

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A

• Ace High - A hand with an Ace, but no pair.
• Action - This refers to the frequency or occurrence of betting. In other words, if there is a lot of betting and raising, then there is a lot of action.
• Acting First - The player that is acting first is the one who has to check or bet before the other players.
• All-in - This is when a card player bets his last amount of chips or is disconnected while playing a hand.
• Arg - Internet jargon that shows frustration.

B

• Backdoor - A draw that needs both the turn and river card to improve. The same as runner-runner.
• Bad Beat - A hand that loses to an opponent who gets very lucky, expecially when the opponent should not even have played his hand.
• Bankroll - The money you have available to gamble.
• Best Of It - Having a long-term positive expectation.
• Bet - Committing chips to the pot first in.
• Betting Round - The phase in a hand in which each active playerhas the option to fold, bet, call, or raise. A standard betting round allows one bet and three or four raises, depending on the house rules.
• Bettor - The first person to commit chips to the pot on any betting round.
• Big Bet - The amount of a bet on the last two rounds of betting.
• Blinds - The blinds are the forced bets that the first two players to the left of the button must put in the pot. The big blind posts a small bet and the small blind usually posts a half small bet.
• Bluff - Raising or betting when your chances of winning the pot is small if you are called.
• Board - The community cards on the playing table.
• Bottom Pair - A pair by matching one of your hole cards with the lowest card on the board or a pocket pair lower than all of the cards on the board.
• Brick - A card that does not increase the value of a player's hand. In Texas Holdem or Omaha, it is a useless card that hits the board.
• BRB - Internet jargon for 'Be Right Back'
• Button - Disc that has no value. It's used to identify the player who is the last to act in games such as Texas Holdem and Omaha. Each player gets the button for one hand and then must pass it on to the player on his left.

C

• Call - Putting money in the pot that is equal to an opponent's bet or raise.
• Call a Raise Cold - Calling a raise without having committed money previously on the same betting round. This is different from betting or calling and then calling a raise by another opponent.
• Caller - Player who puts chips in the pot equal to the bet or raise.
• Cap - The act of putting in the last raise permitted in any betting round.
• Capped Pot - A pot where the maximum allowable number of raises has been reached.
• Check - Declining to bet. This is permitted if no bet has been made before you in the current betting round.
• Check-raise - Checking and then raise an opponent who has bet behind you.
• Close the Betting - Making the last call on any betting round.
• Cold Call - See 'Call a Raise Cold'
• Community Cards - The cards that are dealt face up on the table and belong equally to each player who is active in the hand in a game such as Holdem or Omaha.
• Connector Card(s) - Cards that are sequenced in rank, such as a nine and an eight or an Ace and a King.
• Counterfeited - A card that improves your hand, but to your dismay, it also gives your opponent an even better hand than yours.
• Crying Call - Even though you feel you have a small chance of winning, you still call.
• CUL - Internet jargon for 'See You Later'
• Cut-off - The player who acts right before the button or dealer.
• CYA - Internet jargon for 'See You'

D

• Dangler - A card that does not fit or coordinate with a player's other cards.
• Dealer - This is the same position as the button.
• Dealer Button - See the term 'Button'.
• Discount - Reducing the odds for drawing to an out by the probability that the out is counterfeited or you are drawing dead.
• Disregard - Disregard an out when you are 'drawing dead' to it.
• Down Card - Any card dealt face down to a player such as a hole card or a private card.
• Drawing Dead - Drawing with no chance of improving to the winning hand.
• Draw Out - Beating a player by catching a card that moves your second-best hand into the lead.

E

• Early Position - The first three seats to the left of the blinds in a ten-handed game. Also, after the flop, the term 'early position' refers to players who must act first.
• Expectation (or Return) - The averaged result on any play, but in the long run, not the short run.
• Expected Value (EV) - The expectation simply expressed in a dollar amount. For example, if your chance of winning a $100 pot is 50 percent then your expected value for that pot is $50.

F

• Favorite - The hand that has the best chance of winning.
• First In - The first player to enter chips into the pot.
• Fish - A player who usually loses money as a result of being a poor player that draws to very weak hands and frequently plays many poor starting hands.
• Flop - The betting round where three cards are dealt face up.
• Fold - Giving up on a hand instead of calling or raising a bet.
• Free Card - A call you can see without having to call a bet.
• Full Table - A game with nine or ten players.

G

• G1 - Internet jargon for 'Good One'
• Gut Shot - A draw to a straight where only one card can give you the straight.
• Gut Shot Straight - A straight completed onlly by the addition of a single rank. If you draw to a 4-5-7-8 and catch a 6, you make a gut shot straight.

H

• Heads Up - A pot contested against a single opponent.
• High Cards - A card that has a value of 9 or greater.
• Hitting the Flop - A player's hole cards are helped by the first three board cards in games such as Holdem or Omaha.
• Hole Cards - Any of the cards dealt face down to a player which are for that player's use only.

I

• Implied Odds - The mathematical relationship between the current pot and the bets you expect to win with respect to the current bet.
• Induce a Bluff - Weakly playing your hand to entice an opponent to try a bluff.
• Induce a Call - Weakly playing your hand to entice an opponent to make a crying call.

J-K

• Kicker - The other card in your hand that hasn't matched the board.

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